BEIRUT: A significant incident occurred involving the detonation of explosives placed within 5,000 pagers ordered by Hezbollah, as reported by senior Lebanese security sources. This unprecedented security breach resulted in the explosion of pagers across Lebanon, claiming nine lives and injuring nearly 3,000 others, including members of the Hezbollah militia and Iran’s envoy in Beirut.
Hezbollah leaders have vowed retaliation against Israel, which has refrained from commenting on the series of blasts.
The plot was reportedly months in the making, as Hezbollah had acquired 5,000 pagers manufactured by a Taiwanese company earlier this year. These devices, identified as model AP924, are designed to wirelessly receive and display text messages without the capability for voice calls.
Hezbollah fighters have historically relied on pagers for secure communication to avoid detection by Israeli forces. However, the Lebanese security source disclosed that the pagers had been modified with explosive mechanisms by Israeli intelligence. The explosives were seamlessly integrated at the production level, making them exceedingly difficult to detect.
The source explained that a coded message sent to about 3,000 of the pagers triggered the simultaneous detonation of the explosives hidden within them. Another insider confirmed that the devices contained approximately three grams of explosives, which had escaped Hezbollah’s notice for months.
Images analyzed from the scene displayed distinct characteristics consistent with pagers produced in Taiwan. Following the detonations, Hezbollah has been reeling from the impact, with many members affected, leading to extensive hospitalizations.
One Hezbollah official characterized this incident as the “largest security breach” the organization has faced since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on October 7. Experts assert that this major counterintelligence failure has stark implications for Hezbollah’s operational security.
In light of prior intelligence failures, Hezbollah initiated a war plan in February to strengthen its intelligence operations. After suffering significant losses from targeted Israeli strikes, the group had sought alternative communication methods, notably using pagers instead of personal phones which they deemed risky.
The explosions have raised alarms about increasing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border amidst ongoing hostilities triggered by the recent Gaza conflict. Concerns grow that this situation may spiral into a larger regional conflict involving multiple nations.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has indicated that the opportunity for a diplomatic resolution with Hezbollah is quickly diminishing. However, experts believe that the pager explosions do not indicate an imminent ground offensive from Israel but rather showcase the depth of Israeli intelligence capabilities against Hezbollah.
